Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer’s iconic granite building at 945 Madison Avenue opened in 1966, designed as part of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s relocation and expansion. Since then, the hulking presence on New York’s Museum Mile—the stretch of Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side that is home to many of the city’s most prominent museums—has had several identities. After housing the Whitney for decades, it became the Met Breuer in 2016. Most recently, the Breuer Building hosted works from the Frick Collection during that institution’s just-completed five-year renovation.
Two years ago, Sotheby’s announced it had purchased the Brutalist property from the Whitney, and this fall, the auction house will finally take over the space, transforming the former museum into its New York headquarters. (The Breuer Building will replace Sotheby’s longtime location on York Avenue—a former cigar factory turned Kodak warehouse that was transformed into its flagship home under A. Alfred Taubman’s leadership after the company’s 1983 acquisition.) The November 8 opening will coincide with a major exhibition of modern and contemporary art, followed by the auction house’s fall marquee sales during the week of November 17.
In preparation for the move, Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron updated the iconic building to accommodate auction rooms and add state-of-the-art gallery spaces. The renovation has been described by the auction house as a “sensitive adaptation and renovation” that preserves the building’s architectural significance while updating it for auction house use. CEO Charles Stewart calls it a “reawakening” and “reactivation” that bridges the historic architecture of this sculptural landmark with contemporary utility.
“We are privileged to inhabit an architectural masterpiece that has been home to the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick,” said Lisa Dennison, Sotheby’s executive vice president and chairman of the Americas, in a statement. “Those who knew it in earlier incarnations will be moved by how we’ve reimagined 945 Madison Avenue, preserving the spirit of nearly 60 years of acclaimed programming. The Breuer’s design, with its remarkable ability to embrace many styles and eras of art, is especially meaningful for an auction house.”
Landmark features—including the bluestone floors, bush-hammered concrete walls, trapezoidal “eyelid” windows and dome-ceiling lights—remain integral to the design, while the original benches and counters in the lobby have been reinterpreted as display vitrines, retaining the spatial layout while adding new functionality.
Lighting plays a central role in enhancing the building’s architectural qualities and softening its more cavernous bulk. The transformation also includes a new restaurant (opening in winter) on the lower level designed and operated by the team behind Roman and Williams, the firm responsible for the celebrated French-style La Mercerie in SoHo. The exhibitions hosted in the auction house’s new Breuer Building headquarters will remain free and open to the public.
